Wednesday, 07 August 2019 11:55

$24,700 fine for farm workers

Written by 

Two farm workers have been fined $24,700 for breaching effluent management rules.

A Opotiki dairy farm manager and senior farm assistant were found guilty of breaching the Resource Management Act after a week-long trial earlier this year.

An effluent irrigator failed and discharged waste into a nearby drain. Charges were also laid against the landowner and consent holder, who was previously found guilty and fined $30,000 for the same offences.

The failure happened on October 18, 2016, the same day a Bay of Plenty Regional Council compliance officer was doing a dairy inspection at the property. The officer arrived to find the irrigator located within spraying distance of a spring-fed drain. He also saw signs of effluent having flowed over the bank and into the drain which flows into the Waiaua River, and on to reach the coast about 10km east of Ōpōtiki. 

A water sample taken from the receiving drain on the day of the event found the water had a high faecal coliform reading of 64,000 per 100ml -- 640 times higher than the recommended maximum level for safe stock drinking water.

Regulatory compliance manager Alex Miller says it’s well known that effluent irrigators, if not managed properly, can endanger the health of waterways.   

“In this case the irrigator was placed close to a waterway, despite conditions in the resource consent prohibiting it. Once the irrigator was turned on, a mechanical failure occurred and, without fail safes on the irrigator, it stayed where it was. This led to the effluent building up and running down the bank into the drain,” says Miller.

“While not intentional, this case serves as a reminder that farm staff must be aware of the environmental risks with equipment. They must take the necessary steps to avoid situations like this, particularly when using outdated equipment,” says Miller.

Environment Court Judge David Kirkpatrick noted that the farm worker was “careless to a relatively high degree”. 

More like this

$52,500 fine for effluent mismanagement

A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.

Fliegl offers effluent solutions

Founded in Germany as recently as 1977, today, the Fliegl Group employs more than 1100 workers, offering an expansive range of transport solutions, from their base in Bavaria.

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

National

All eyes on NZ milk supply

All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.

Machinery & Products

Leader balers arrive in NZ

Officially launched at the National Fieldays event in June, the Leader in-line conventional PRO 1900 balers are imported and distributed…

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Full cabinet

OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter